When does Alien Swarm get good?

Hooks you almost right away. In the first 2 hours 1 in 8 reviews are negative (12%); after 5h it's 1 in 55 (2%). Fully opens up by hour 5.

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Alien Swarm

Jul 19, 2010 Steam: Very Positive

Hooks you almost right away

Gets good by 2h almost every game dips in hours 2–3

Fully opens up by 5h rated like by long-time players

Started playing 56% of owners

Steam reviews 95% positive of 21,647

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours 1 in 8 reviews are negative (12%); after 5h it's 1 in 55 (2%).
Fully opens up by hour 5.
The opening is criticised less than in 87% of games we track.
The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
Only 56% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 21,735 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 3.1h for positive, 0.8h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (55.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.

All achievements (66)

story milestone ending side

Technician Secured Finish a mission without the tech getting killed. 100%
Hat Trick Complete 2 co-op missions online. Earns a Team Fortress 2 parasite hat. 99%
Quick and Dead Kill a Swarm Boomer before it inflates. 85%
Shield Down Deliver the finishing blow to a Swarm Shieldbug. 78%
Protect the Tech Guard the squad's tech so that he takes no damage during the hack. 74%
Quick Load Successfully perform a fast reload. 73%
Seal of Quality Seal a door with the welder. 70%
Zero Mortality Complete a mission on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 66%
Under the Gun Roll under a Swarm Ranger projectile. 64%
Clear Firing Kill 25 drones without friendly fire. Four marines must be present in the mission. 61%
Sharpshooter Complete a mission with better than 90% accuracy. 59%
Close Encounters Kill 20 Swarm with melee attacks in a single mission. 58%
On the Ready Line Kill 1,000 Swarm. 57%
Easy Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Easy difficulty or harder. 53%
Infestation Savior Cure an Infested marine. 53%
Parasite Puncher Kill a Swarm Parasite with a melee attack. 50%
Smoking Barrels Kill 5 Swarm with explosive barrels in a single mission. 49%
Scrambled Eggs Destroy all Swarm Eggs in a mission without allowing any to hatch. 49%
Normal Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Normal difficulty or harder. 46%
Autogun Expert Kill 250 Swarm with an Autogun. 46%
Group Heal Heal all 4 marines with a single Heal Beacon. 45%
Assault Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with the Assault Rifle. 45%
Gunslinger Successfully perform 5 fast reloads in a row. 42%
Prototype Professional Kill 250 Swarm with a Prototype Rifle. 42%
Pyrotechnician Kill 250 Swarm with a Flamethrower. 42%
Electro-Stunned Stun 6 Swarm with a single Stun Grenade. 41%
Armory Access Unlock all the available weapons. 39%
Blast Radius Kill 6 Swarm with a single Grenade. 38%
Short Controlled Bursts Complete a mission with no friendly fire incidents. Four marines must be present in the mission. 37%
Ammo Technician Deploy 10 ammo stashes that are used by other marines. 37%
Vindicator Veteran Kill 250 Swarm with a Vindicator. 36%
Stay Frosty Freeze 6 Swarm with a single Freeze Grenade. 36%
Bug Stomper Kill 100 Swarm Grubs. 35%
Hard Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Hard difficulty or harder. 34%
Damage Amped Kill 15 Swarm with all four marines under the effects of a Damage Amp in a single mission. 33%
Small Arms Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with PDWs. 33%
Another Bughunt Kill 5,000 Swarm. 33%
Shotgun Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with a Shotgun. 33%
Static Defender Kill 500 Swarm with deployable Sentry Guns. 33%
Circuit Breaker Complete 10 wire hacks without access being logged. 31%
Peace Medic Heal 300 points of damage in a single mission without dealing any non-melee damage to the Swarm. 31%
Hornet Barrage Expert Kill 100 Swarm with Hornet Barrages. 31%
Minigun Master Kill 250 Swarm with a Minigun. 30%
Pistols Expert Kill 250 Swarm with Twin Pistols. 30%
High Voltage Expert Kill 250 Swarm with a Tesla Cannon. 30%
Slaughter Soldier Kill 250 Swarm with a Chainsaw. 29%
Perfect Complete a mission on Normal difficulty or harder without receiving any damage. 29%
Tactical Explosives Expert Kill 100 Swarm with Laser Tripmines. 29%
Firewall Specialist Kill 100 Swarm with Incendiary Mines. 29%
Railgun Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with a Rail Rifle. 29%
Rydberg Reactor Speed Run Complete Rydberg Reactor within 3:10 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Professional Marksman Kill 250 Swarm with a Marksman Rifle. 28%
Grenadier Expert Kill 250 Swarm with a Grenade Launcher. 28%
Insane Campaign Awarded for finishing the Jacob campaign on Insane difficulty. 28%
Hardcore Complete any mission on Brutal difficulty with Onslaught and Hardcore Friendly Fire enabled. 28%
Cargo Elevator Speed Run Complete Cargo Elevator within 2:50 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Landing Bay Speed Run Complete Landing Bay within 1:25 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Outstanding Execution Complete a campaign on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Security Expert Complete 10 computer hacks without access being logged. 28%
Kill Them All Kill 25,000 Swarm. 28%
Deima Surface Bridge Speed Run Complete Deima Surface Bridge within 2:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Sewer Junction Speed Run Complete Sewer Junction within 1:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 28%
Brutal Campaign Awarded for finishing the Jacob campaign on Brutal difficulty. 27%
SynTek Residential Speed Run Complete SynTek Residential within 2:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 27%
Timor Station Speed Run Complete Timor Station within 4:25 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. 27%
Nuke From Orbit Kill 100,000 Swarm. 27%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.